Air gun



L. C. SCHNEIDER.

Am GUN.-

l APPLICATION -F|LED OCT. 8, 190. 1,405,012, Patented Jan. 31, 1922'.`

i? ff 552 27 if 50 A 5 gro fa jf e F, geen 03! .5@ 55 Ja J f 7:3 l w 3 f fr@ fg@ -ff-T.

@KM mgl/x wnwsss Y l y v frrromvgrs tnoronno. SCHNEIDER,"or"GLENSID;ENNsYLvANin."`

To allabkom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, IJ oiioLD SoHNiii'f'y DER', a citizen of the United States, andla resident of Glenside, county of Montgomery,

and State of Pennsylvania, have invented. *certain n'ew and useful Improvementsjin A ir Guns, of which the `following is a specifica.-

tion, reference beinghad'to the accompany-v f Vmatically supply a.freshfprojectiletoz'gthe1 ing drawing.

simplicity of design andiconstruction which maybe operatedaccurately` and efficiently.

For the purpose n'of attaining theseand other objects which will hereinafter fmore fully appear, I yposition theair cylinderbeneath the barrel of-. theygun,preferably interposing a magazine between the-two', andarrange the lplunger orpiston in the air cyl-" inder.; in such manner that .uponthe dis-'f charge `of the gun the` travel ofthe 'pistonl opposite direction, thus yimpartingvto the, *gun a recoilori kiek similar;in nature to' that of the ordinary-shotgun or rifle and enablingthe operator to more nearlypreserve theaim which has beentaken p'rior'to discharge. than. is'possible when the gun is pulled away from the o bythe action ofthe' piston.VV 1 f Moreover', by arranging vthegpiston as` aforesaid, I am enabled to dischargethe compressed air from the air cylinder intothe barrelof-the gun from a point Vadjacent the breech end of the cylinder.l which perl mits the use vof'a'barrel of. relativelygreat length forthe traveloffthe projectile and enhances theaccu'racy of the Weaponwith` out unduly increasing the over-all length thereof. Additionally, since the connection betweenthe air; cylinder and the barrel is.'` formed at the rear 'end ofthe-latten, I 'am'.`

enabled to extend thepair cylinder beneathf the barrel for a suitable .distancerto permitY the employment of a relatively long. c0 m pressio'nchamber. and lpiston rod :and a spring of sufiicient length and strength tol vgive a maximum impulse to` the piston,

Vwhile byV arranging the pivotal or fuloruin" point of the cocking lever/adjacent the 'fori wardend of the aireylinder, I secure suf- -cient leverage to effect thecompression of A principal object of'my invention isjt"o provide an air .gun'of maximum power and perators shoulder relatively .slight 'effort` i `Further objects of my invention:aref'the'i i: .60. trigger and trigger release, .andfa magazine of .improved Construction and desgawhihf; I. may be `readilycharged. with agpluralityofffl `1I rojectiles andwhichfwill.ServetO-fauto-L f provision in anairfgun; of a novel`- form lof tedfJaii'fSly192.2.' f f -Appiijcation mednctobe'r s, 1920. ser-iai 110.4115512.;

'.dischargedsolong as any projectiles fare containedfin the magazine, and/to so; ar-

range and designfthe. various partsqofgthe k70 las vdStnguish'edf fromlaA slotted.pistoii rod,y rotatable-on its ownaxisin the air cylin-:A

gun' as to .permitfthe employment fof; a solid der, vthus equalizing the-.weargupon thejicyl-f inder, piston and rod', and :cooking .mecha- 'ddlitionally@acontemplates` 1 the utilization of the? foregoing'ffeatures,j:

characteristicsand improvements in airsgiuis: f l

nism. y My invention;

havingfone or fmor'e barrels, and;.the/arrangement.: and design of the l severalv elef ments soas topermit thegun -to bereadily..y l

disassembled and reassembled for.V cleaningv vorl replacement gofparts.' l

'My invention furtherrincludessgall ofthe-1 various other objects and! novel features of;

constructionY land v arrangement hereinafter morei definitely specified andd es'cribedi'jf In Vthe accompanying drawing, )Figf lzs a side elevation7 of va' singlebarrelfair gun embodying a' preferred form of my invention (f90, l Fig. 2 visan enlarged'bottom plan viewfof 7 4-theigunpshown inA Fig. l' withportionslof`- 'the stock; and Y'barrel omitted; -Fig.".3is

central vertical section, 'partially` infsideV elevation, ofthe portion ofthe gun shownin`.

Fig'with'theparts' in the Vposition in which f movement ofthe cooking-.lever duringthe??A I co'ckirig operation; and Fig. 4 is ra lviewfsula stantially simi-lento Fi'g.A 3` showing Y ,the

tively transverse .vertical sections on lines` fragmentary view partially in sectionofja portionof the magazine; In Fgs. y8 and ffy K9 I have shown portions of a-double barrel j.

5. z -e effing- 410mm in tiiej direction of the arrows, andFig. 7 Yis* an -enlargedllQ-i" ioo ment of the barrels and air cylinders.v Like., numerals are used yto designate correspond-1. H

` lu`g`26 adapted to engage between a'pair of ,downwardly projecting,k lears 28 formed either integrall with, orgrigidly secured to,

ing parts in the several figures. Y

eferring now more particularly to that form of gun shown in Figs. l to 7 inclusive,

the-same comprises a. stockl, the forward` vpart of which preferably enters between and is secured to cheek platesA 2-'2 whichv extend .rearwardlyfromvthe air cylinder 4, are preferably integral therewithy and are so formed andA arranged Vas to 'provide' k,a

Vsocketfor the reception of the stock, screws f or` other suitable means passing through thirds of the length of the barrel 8, is open at'its forward end andis suitably closedfat its rear end -preferablyby an integral wall Y l0.' The rear end of .the barrel-is curvedy the*Y platesandthestockl serving to hold the parts in rigid relation. From vthe stock,

the air cylinder extends forward fora suit!v 'able distance,l conveniently 'for'about two downwardly as Vat l2 and 'gisconnectedto they :top of the-aircylinder,'preferably by brazing orinj'some other' suitable manner,

the wall' of'the cylinder being :drilled to provide 'a portlfroi'n its interior to the bore 14 `of the barrel. The barrel is prefer-- 1 ably spaced abovevthe 4air cylinder to affordY room for` positioning't'he magazine l5, hereinafter more specifically: described, between l `the barrel andthe cylinder, and thebarrel lis conveniently .supported adjacent *the `fory'ward end of the air .cylinder by a pair 'off ears `17 secured 'to the Ywalls of thecylinderH projecting Vupwardly therefrom, the extremities of the, ears being directed V'inwardly n andarranged'to engage the barrelV as best 'shown in Fig. 6. This construction iis effec-V tive ftosecurely supportrvthe barrel von the cylinder, which in turn is rigidly supported on the stock so that at al'l'tiin'es the y'parts j are maintained 'in proper relation and Aalignf` f vfirran'ged within thev cylinder is a piston rod 20""carrying at its inner enda piston2'i suitablyy securedthereon and at its outer end aicircular 'flange forming-the substantially:

' semi-spherical cooking head 22. -The piston rodiis preferably cylindrical, andl the cock@ ing head 22 and a collar 23 positionedVv on the `pistonV rod afs-hert distancevfrom` the cooking (headV are either formed integral with the rod or else'formed separately and securely Vattached. thereto. The piston is of Y suitable diameter tocfit snugly inthe cylin- V der and may be provided with -suitable packing if desired, 'and the cooking head and collarV 23 lare, preferablyl of slightly less diameter than the interior of the cylinder so asi to 'afford asmall 'clearance adjacent ther cylinderi wall.

A mately equidi'stant from the ends ofthe l cylinder-'is a' bushing or'guide`25 through which the piston rod-freely vpasses,' this guide being'supported within-the cylinder i-nv Preferably approxil any convenient manner but preferably by providing it with anv outwardly projecting the cylinder wall, a. bolt 30 passing transl v Yversely through the ears and the lug serving to hold the guide rigidly in position. It will Y Y* be understood-that the wall of the v cylinder is slotted between'the ears 28 to permitthe A passage kof the lug 26 and that thisfslo'tfBl Y is "continued forwardly to the endof'the cylinder tol provide ra gaiideway fory theA VV reception of adownwardly depending 'lug 34 f preferably formed integralV withV :the :cooking sleevef which is positioned `ori, vsurrounds, and is slidaible upon theJ piston rod 20 between the collar 23 and 'the l` guide 25. In cooking the gun-7 that is, -in drawing the pistonforwardly in thejair cylinder to contact with ythecollar 23..` to bring the piston rod to the retracted position shown ingFig.

3, vsuitable hand opreratedmeansY being pro-iv vided for actuating 'the sleeve, vvsaidnieansvv preferably` comprising .the V'cocking'flever 40 V vwhich'is connected. by a link or links? 4l'y withy the lug 34 o f the sleeve/35. f' The cocking lever preferably comp'risesfa pair-'of complementary operatively unitary members each'havingVr a'inainv portion 42VV adapted, when the lever isi-.in lclosed po'sitio'n,'to rest t'beneath andf'sub'stantially parallel tothe l air cylinder, as shown in Figs. 1 V 'and '4,Ya,v conveniently shaped handle 43 'at the rear'` endA .fof 'theV main Yportion and4 a vertically* directed portion-44adj acent the forward end-v,

thereof fulcrumed onv a-'b'olt '45 passing cooking lever are suitably securedV together in laterally spaced relation yas Yby the'bolts 47 and spacers 48 to'forma unitary strucf `ture movable about the bolt 45 conveniently by grasping the handle 43. ,As stated',`the" cooking llever is connected Vwithvthe lug 34 of the sl'eevef through the medium of'a linkor links 4l whichrare pivoted to theflug and te thelever, the point of attachment of horizontally through theY ears 17'.'VVV It willyv be understood thatthe-two`A members ofjthe' i llt) thel links toY the latter being Vqiiiteclose to `the forward end'thereof `so thatk when'tlie"v lever isv movedV forwardly about, the -bolt 45l iii-the operation of 'cooking'- the gun, a

Amaximum amount of .power maybe exerted 'i i to move the sleeve forwardly, and thereby. compress the spring 38, withia "minimum 4effort apppliedtoY the-handl`e43. For holding the piston red in'cocked po- Y' :sition suitablem'eans are provided, 'prefer ably. comprising the searfO .pivoted on a; Y

"horiz/.ontal pivot bolt 5l carried by theears v17. These'ar is ofg'fenerally VLV-sh-apedV form 655 foi'lwar hind the coclring head 22, Vandwith a de-4 pending arm 53 tov'vhichis attached a trigger wire 54 ,extending rearwardly and terminating ina trigger 55which may be -prote-cted by the trigger guard 56., VForV conveniently holding the seaijin .engagement with vthe Vcockinghead the trigger wireyis preferably so positioned as tocontact with the lower face or the lug 34 when the latter is in its` rearmost position as shown in Fig. i

i andfextends to its point of attachment to the sear in slightly angular relation to the airis of the air cylinder whereby the wire tends atfall times Vto force tlie'sear to the yposition shown in 4. During the cockingoperation', as the lug 34 travels-out-- wardly and the vcurved face of the dog 52 rides up on Jehe curved end ofthe cooking head the trigger wire, which ispreferably inadef otY piano wire vor other tempered materia-l, is further stressed,` and as soon as the vertical -a-ce of the' cockingheadhas passed-beyond the pointoi the dog L52, the sear is caused to snap back toits normal position so asgto engage the dogV 52 behind the cooking head as shown in Fig. 3, from which position it Lmay. be readily. released by a longitudinalfpull on thewire comzenif.V

ently delivered throughtlie trigger 55,.: It will of course, be understood thaty o-n-tlie coinpletionfdl" the vrcocking operation the cooking lever l0 isreturned from lthe posi- V tijon shown in Fig. 3 to itsv normal position as sliownxinFigs. Vland t,- the sleeve l35, slid;

of engagement with the; cooking head* and thefpistoii Runder the'inuence oftheconr pressed spring 38 moves forcibly towardthe-` rear ot the air cylinder vforcing vthe air-there@ rin through the port l into the-.barrel ed?. the gun andv againstl a `projectfilef() it posiA disch arged. I preferably proyidea suitable Y' magazine in which the projectiles areloa'ded ltrouitime tontiine and. embodying Ameans.

tofconsecutively Jfeed the projectiles tothe barrel of the. gun. This.'I nagazine which lis' most clearlyshown inFig; V7 comprises fa 9. 'l Each. lof :the air cylinders ispr0vided--- cylinder 62 having an internal diameter sube stantially similar t'o-.that ofthe barrelof` the guiiyingthe wvall'fof which adjacent its d vend is. provided an aperture 63 to described, anda single cooking lever Klis-.-

rest.

ing rearwardly on the. piston rod during this' operation te y assume a position in -contactrl or nearly in contact-5y lwith the guide v 25"leaving the piston held in its `forward or retracted position. through. the engagement oitl the 'sear with the :cooking head1-'When tli,e trigger ispull-ed. the dog 52--israisedout-,l

through kwhich theprojectilews. '60 may be' fed intoj the magazine. v fThe forward por-V i i i tion 65 olf the. magazine-is. preferably {enlarged in diameterj so as tolaccommoda'te,.aA i i plunger GGha-ving` a sliding itin the; portion'v 62 and surroundedby a springy;locatedin the portionv 65, `the front vend:othemagazine y beingclosedby a capGS.; .The portion is;v v

providedwith a. longitudinal'slety 70 which; receives Va headed :radially projecting pin 71g carried: by the .plunger andaga-inst wliich .7

the inner; end ofthe spring `is varranged to ,vided with a. notch 72 adapted iorathegre-v ception of the pin and WhIlfWhich-qjt mayVT rEhe slot near its outer-endvis: .proy Y' be engaged'byan axialrinovementg'-thegnotch 'v being soormed. andpositioned thatwwhen the .pin is' engaged in it, .tl i'einnei:end-. oil the plungeris withdrawn sufficiently fto 'c lear-, the opening 63. The magazine -is preferably.,-V

as hitherto'stated positiond Vbetweenthe; barrel and" the ai-r cylinder ott 1 the gun; awith f the inner end-ef vthe portionffO'openiiiginto'l thebarrel at) apoint. slightly abovethe port; f'.

lt will be'evidenttthat byT withdrawing the.

- plunger and engaging` the-pin -in the .slotg-.

a plurality oiprojectilesmay; be introduced 13 as clearly shown in Fig. 4. Y

into the kmaga- Zine and-kupon; Vdisengagemen'tgg;L ofi the pin the 'pli'ingen underthe influence.

of the springgfyvill'orfce` the rst'projectile f into thebarrel '6 0 a positionto receive the is discharged. vltis `foundin practice that;

portion of `the barrelfuntilY the' .gun is-.disfg charged, butjinf'ordei.tofjinsure against the possibility ofthe projectile droppingV down. into; the `fairy cylinder thef-porU-lmay: bei nia-de of slightly4 smaller; Zdiam'eter. than the proj ectile' por small f wireV 7 5 v mayg-beposi;

blast of airifrom the port 13'when1the gun:

tioned. over fthe* mouth of the; port;l orf' any other 1 suitable means. E provided;` ifiyreqiiired.

I lt will Voit'gcourse be further evident .thatasj soon as the-gun is discharged-A` andv:the fi'ist,

proj ectile expelled .from the fbfarriel,V another projectileywill -be immediately rlfed.y into posi-' tion fromthe j ectiles are` contained ltherein...l

magazineso longr asany pro-.1 5

tion'iof ga doubled barrel; air gun embodying of barrels'B, 8' su'perposedl on thei-rrespec-.f

tive cylindersrinagazines15,'15beinginterf posed f therebetween. '-As. the.v air cylinders` are @ordinarily Lof greater; diameterthan l.the i n barrels, I fprefer not to positioiithey barrelsy .5.

directly over their respeetiveq cylinders ,but to arrange' them in contact, asshownin Fig.

with a piston and other operating parts'.ingam'anner substantially similar tothathither'-.fV

ordinarily the .pressure olf the spring ,is-suf ,109 y ycient to. hold the projectile in theecurv'edg.

Y provided compri-,sing a pair of laterally 'spaced complementary members'fulcrumed on thef bolt 45 carried by the ears 17 arranged atthe yforward ends of the air cylinders. VEach of the members of t-he cooking lever which, itwill 'be understood, operatesv unitarily,.is connected through the medium of a link 4l with the lug 34 of the cocking sleeve 35 kinthe'` adjacent air-cylinder yas clearly shown invFig. 8, and a sear and releasing means for eachpiston and comprising trigger wires 54,54 are provided in a y manner siinilarto-that already described. Inv

cooking the gun if both barrelshave beenV discharged,the-cooking lever when thrown 'forward' operates throughv the medium of links dl, filrto draw Vboth piston rods forwardly toia position-vin which their respective cooking heads can be engaged by their respective sears, after which the lever is returnedto normal position' beneath the air cylindersleaving both 'barrels' of the gun VcockedJ-If one barrel be now discharged and it is desired to re-cock the same, the cooking ,f lever is thrown forward in the ordinary manner 'to causethe discharged barrel to'be cocked in the ordinary way, the cooking sleevey of the other barrel meanwhile merely sliding-alongits piston rodv first forwardly "and then in reverse direction in correspondence Vwith themovenient of thecocking-l'ever. It willbe apparent' that vin those embodiments of my invention which I have described, the piston and piston rod are in no way restrained from laxial rotation, a feature which tends to minimize and. equalize wear both on the piston and on the interiorkof the 'air cylinder; that theair; chamber in the air cylinder is vofrelatively great capacity vand length *andv thatby-the arrangement of theY cockinglever it is possible-to utilize a spring ofrelatively great strength without requir- 'ing 'the expenditure Vof undue` effortin the cocl'ringoperation, so that the power of the gun is-materially increased andthe trajectory ofthe vprojectile correspondingly flattened. Furthermore,the form and construction of the several partsis such as to permit claims.

economical manufacture while the arrangement of the mechanism facilitates assembly or disassembly vfor cleaning or repair.

While I have herein vdescribed a preferred form' ofmy invention and have-shown the same*` as embodied in guns of both sngleand double barrel type, I do' not thereby desire or intend to limitV myself specifically theretoas changes and modifications may be made in the construction and yarrangement of the details ofthe various parts and their method Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to Vprotect by Lettersl Patent ofthe United States: l

l; An air gun comprising a barrel,V an air cylinder communicating therewith, a vspring actuated piston operating in'said cylinder and arranged to move toward the butt of the gun upon the discharge thereof, means comprising a hand actuated lever fulcrumed adjacent the outer end of the cylinder for moving said piston towardthe outer end of the cylinder to cock the gun, and releasable means vfor holding said piston in retracted position.k y .v

2. *An air gun comprising a barrel, an air cylinder communicating therewith, a: piston and a piston rod operating in said-cylinder and rotatable about their longitudinalfaxis, a hand lever rfulcrumed adjacent the outer end of Vsaid cylinder and means connecting ,i

said hand lever with said piston rod, said lever being operative to -retract thepiston Y rwhen'moved forwardly away from the buttk -Aof the gun, a. spring surroundingsaid piston rod, and releasable means operative to hold saidy piston vrod in retracted position against the compression of said spring againstV said piston.

BfAn air gun comprisinga barrel, anair cylinder communicating therewith adjacent the rear end of the barrel, a spring actuated piston operating in said cylinder, mea-ns includinga member slidableV on said'rod for retracting said piston away from the. point of'communication between said barrel and said cylinder, means for holding said piston in retracted position, and means'for releasingy said piston to allow it to move in the op-` positie .direction under the influence of the spring. y f 4. Vnair :gun comprising a barrel, an air cylinder having a port communicating with the barrel adjacent the breech thereof, a pis-X ton movable longitudinallyofthe cylinder and axially rotatable therein, a sleeve slidable on said piston rod, a spring tending to move saidv piston toward said port, means cooperative with said sleeve to retract said piston from said port against. the resistance of said' spring, and releasable lmeans operativeA to hold said piston in retracted position." Y

5. Anair gun comprising arbarrel, an air cylinder communicating therewith, a piston and piston rod operablein said cylinder, a spring surrounding said rod, a. Vhand operated lever fulcrumed adjacent the outer end of said cylinder, a sleeve slidable onY said rod, means connecting said sleeve and said lever, and a movable sear operative to hold saidV rod in retracted position againstl the compression of said spring, said rod on the rellease of said sear being operative to move toward the butt. of the gun. Y

6. An air gun comprising a barrel, an air cylinder arranged beneath the barrel and iis communicating therewith, a magazine adapted'to consecutively feed proiectiles into said barrel, a p-iston anda piston rod operatingy in said Vcylinderand rotatable about their longitudinal aXis, an operating lever beneath said cylinder 'itulcrumed adjacent the outer end thereof, a sleeve slidable on said rod,

means rigid with said rod adapted for engagement by 'said sleeve, movablemeans connecting said sleeve and said lever, a movable i sear, means carried by said rod adapted for engagement by said Sear, and ar spring surrounding said rod, said sea-r being operative to hold said rod in retracted position against the compression of said spring and said rod being adaptedto move toward the butt of the gun when lreleased from .engagement by l said sear. 4

n: 7. In an air 'gun the combination with vair cylinder having a movable piston, of

means for holding said piston in retracted position comp-rising a movable Sear and releasing means for said sear comprising a Y spring wire extending rearwardly from said sear and in slightly angular relation with the wire.

9. The combination in an air gun, oit' an air cylinder, a piston rod movable in said cylinder, ahead on said rod', a spring operative to move said rod in said cylinder and means for restraining'said rod against movement:v

by said Vspring comprising a .pivoted-,L-

shaped sear,lone -arm `of saidsear having a dog operativerv to engage said head and a wire connected with. the other arm ofjsaid Sear and extending beneath said cylinder, Y l and means operative to maintain said wire in" slightly angular relationwith said cylinder a position to engage said head, a longitudi- A whereby saidlsear is continuously forced to nal pull-on said wirebeing operative to move said sear` out of'engagement with said head, "10,l The combination in lan airf gun of an air cylinder, a barrel superposed on'said cylinder andcommunicatingtherewith and a magazine interposed betweensaid barrel and said cylinder and comprising a'cylinder, a l

spring actuated plunger movable in said cylinder, an opening in the wall of' said cylinder for introducing projectiles therein, and means for holding said plunger in kretracted position clear o f said opening.

11; The combination in an air gun of an air cylinder, a barrel superposed on said cylinder and communicating therewith and a magazine interposed ,between said barrel and said cylinder and comprising a cylinder communi- -cating with said barrel, a spring pressed plunger slidablein saidv cylinder, an opening in the wall of said cylinder to permitv the nv E troduction of projectiles therein, and means operative by an axial movement of said plunger to hold said plunger in retracted position to uncover ksaid opening. y

. In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of October, 1920.

LEOPOLD osoHNEiDER. 

